SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In his first two seasons in Philadelphia, Garnet Hathaway was as much a part of the club's identity as anyone on the roster. Hitting, fighting, penalty killing, chirping, instigating, leading -- all of the intangibles Hathaway brings were invaluable to the culture that the organization has been attempting to methodically build.
Those attributes are why the Flyers targeted Hathaway as a free agent on July 1, 2023, with a two-year deal, and why they promptly extended that contract two more years as soon as they could on July 1, 2024.
That's been missing this season, though. And Flyers coach Rick Tocchet has frequently scratched Hathaway as a result. Before the Flyers' three-game road trip to California -- which they swept, capped by a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Saturday -- Hathaway didn't dress for three of the Flyers' previous four games.
But he was back in the lineup this week, looking like his old self in wins over the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and Sharks.
It wasn't the West Coast sunshine that rejuvenated him, though. It was a meeting with Tocchet in which Hathaway was "looking for some guidance," Tocchet said after Saturday's game.
"We talked about everything. Sometimes, you have to do that as a coach," Tocchet said. "He's applying the information, not so much from me, from himself. He's taking accountability, and he knows what he had to do. He's a leader on this team."
He certainly was Saturday. The Flyers may not have won without him.
Hathaway provided one of the single biggest highlights of the Flyers' season by doing what he does best -- flattening an opponent. That it was Sharks superstar and Team Canada Olympian Macklin Celebrini on the receiving end only made it more notable.
Early in the third period of a 1-1 game, Celebrini attempted to curl around the Sharks' net with the puck. But Hathaway was lurking. Celebrini may not have even seen him, as Hathaway was already preparing to make contact by getting low behind Alexander Wennberg, who was momentarily between the two. The shoulder-to-shoulder hit lifted Celebrini clean off his skates and sent him careening into the corner boards.
Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro immediately jumped in to try to engage Hathaway in a fight, but Hathaway was having none of it in a game that the Flyers needed to keep their slim playoff chances alive. Ferraro went off for roughing, and the Flyers promptly scored the game-winning goal on the power play, courtesy of Christian Dvorak.
"We're trying to be relentless on the puck. We're trying to create turnovers. There's a guy wheeling the net with the puck as a lefty -- that's a tough play," Hathaway said. "I had a chance to go through him. I can't guess if they're going to jump me or not."
Owen Tippett, who remained hot with a first-period goal that opened the scoring, said: "He makes a big hit, they draw a penalty, and we score the game-winner. That’s really what sets that up, and that’s big."
It wasn't the only time on the road trip that Hathaway had an impact.
Hathaway threw a team-high six hits in the 3-2 overtime win over the Ducks on Wednesday as part of an effective fourth line with Luke Glendening and Sean Couturier. He drew a second-period elbowing penalty on Tim Washe, and his third-period block of a Jansen Harkins shot created a rush with Couturier the other way. He earned an assist on Glendening’s goal with some solid board work, and nearly scored himself just after the Ducks tied it late by getting to the front of the net. His shot glanced off Lukáš Dostál’s glove and hit the post.
Couturier and Glendening missed the next two games due to injury, but Hathaway still had noticeable energy. In the 4-3 shootout win over the Kings on Thursday, Hathaway didn’t hesitate to get in front of a powerful Adrian Kempe blast on a Kings power play that resulted in Hathaway hobbling back to the bench. At the end of the period, his hustle past Kempe with the Flyers again shorthanded and his subsequent shot on goal nearly resulted in a last-second rebound chance for Dvorak.
In short, he looked like the old Garnet Hathaway throughout the week.
"I can't change anything (from earlier this season), but I can focus on what I can do to help this team win from here on out," said Hathaway, who has one goal and two assists in 57 games. "I think that's the mindset we all have right now, is how important are these two points for us, and what can we do every shift."
The Flyers, who won their seventh straight road game, improved to 9-2-1 in their last 12 overall. After Dvorak’s go-ahead marker, they added empty net goals by Travis Sanheim and Noah Cates. Dan Vladar was outstanding in net once again, making 24 saves, half of which came in the final frame.
The Flyers, playing their third game in four days, held off an opponent that is just as desperate as they are, fighting for position in the lackluster Pacific Division.
"That third period, that's how you win games," Hathaway said. "You clip that whole third period and pick out every guy on the team that made a play that was difficult to make."
None more than the play by Hathaway.
Since Feb. 4, the Flyers' 2.29 team goals-against average is third in the NHL. Sanheim spoke about some of the adjustments they made over the Olympic break that seem to have paid off.
"We changed a little bit in our system, trying to kill more plays," he said. "The wingers are coming down and changing sides, and it just allows us to stop more plays in the D-zone which allows us to spend less time in there. You've been seeing that as of late, and we're doing a nice job of it."
The Flyers' identity has to start in the defensive zone. They're still not a team that's going to pump in goals, particularly with their power play again in the league basement.
Now they're getting to the front of the net more often. They didn't score in the first period on Saturday, but they had several high-danger chances from in tight, including by Alex Bump and Tippett. Bump, especially, seems to have helped, as he's recorded at least one shot on goal in seven of his eight games so far (12 total).
Tocchet agreed with a suggestion that the Flyers have been more proficient lately attacking the front of the net, as well as better at getting pucks there when they have bodies in position to pounce.
"Yeah,a lot more," he said."(It's)better.I think we're getting more shots from the point.We're still not there yet,but we're getting there.So,a positive."
Said Sanheim:"We're just proving that if we stick with it,play our structure,we're going to get looks and get opportunities.We've been doing a nice job of it."
While it still seems unlikely that Sam Ersson will be back with the Flyers next season, he's played his best hockey of the season coming out of the Olympic break. Yes, it's a small sample size. But in his last four games, including three starts, Ersson is 3-0 with a 1.74 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
On Thursday in Los Angeles, Ersson made several key saves late in the second period with the Flyers protecting a 3-2 lead, including a pad save on a Drew Doughty shot through traffic and then immediately getting his pad on Kempe's rebound attempt, too. None of the three goals he allowed would be considered a "bad" one -- Quinton Byfield was left alone in the slot; Anže Kopitar took advantage of a fortuitous bounce on the end wall; and Ersson was screened by Trevor Moore on Artemi Panarin's power play score.
Ersson also improved to 14-5 in his career in shootouts, with two more saves in the skills competition, including a dazzling glove save on Panarin.
It wasn't overly surprising to see Tyson Foerster step onto the Honda Center ice Tuesday for Flyers practice. It's been more than three months since his shoulder injury, and he was probably itching to get on the road with the boys. What was surprising was to see how well he was firing the puck, considering that's how he hurt himself originally—attempting a one-timer in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 1.
I was told last month that there was a "slim-to-none" chance of Foerster returning before the end of the season, but Tocchet seemed to leave that door open at least a crack.
"I think it's too early to say," Tocchet said,"but you saw the coaches smiling."("(He's a)shot-first guy.We desperately need those guys....Whether he comes back this year or not,I’m not quite sure,but he’s definitely progressing in the right direction.”
Of course,shooting pucks and absorbing contact are two different things,and Foerster is still wearing a bright yellow practice sweater,so he isn’t involved in any kind of battle drills.Considering how much the Flyers have missed him,they’re going to want to be as careful as possible here.